Bad Grades

American students aren't making the grade:

Results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test – administered to fourth and eighth graders — showed at least a third of America’s students failed to demonstrate “basic” reading skills expected for their age group. With 51.5 million students enrolled in public school across America, that represents potentially tens of millions of kids failing to make the grade. Just 67% of eighth-graders were able to meet or exceed basic skills on the 2024 test, 2% fewer than in 1992 when NAEP testing began. Fourth-graders’ reading proficiency was also lower than in 1992, with just 60% meeting basic skills in 2024. Math scores were somewhat less dire but still remained below pre-pandemic levels. Fourth-grade math improved by two points from 2022 to 2024 with 77% of students reaching basic proficiency — but still down from 80% in 2019. Eighth-grade math levels from 2022 to 2024 dropped by one point, from 62% to 61%. They are down by nine points from 2019. Education groups are blaming the Covid-19 pandemic and kids continuing to fall behind. Republicans say it’s the result of policies of the Biden administration that has bogged down teachers with “woke” lesson plans, instead of focusing on reading, writing and arithmetic.

Liberals never want to accept responsibility for the problems they cause...